Romania, besides Italy, Portugal, Slovakia and Bulgaria, want to delay a European Union plan to effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 by five years, according to a document seen by Reuters.

German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner initially declared that a ban on the sale of cars with thermal engines would be a mistake, and therefore the government in Berlin would not agree with this European legislation. Later, the Berlin Executive returned, noting that Lindner had spoken on his own behalf.

The policy is a key pillar of the EU’s plans to tackle rising transport emissions and speed the shift to electric vehicles as the bloc strives to cut economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels.

The car emissions proposal, made by the European Commission last year, would require a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035, making it impossible to sell fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the EU from that date.

Ministers from EU countries plan to agree on their position this week before negotiating the final law with the EU parliament - which supported the 2035 ban in a vote this month.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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